CarlAda

One trip isn't going to do it....there are SO many places worth a trip, as you've seen just reading these posts.

Brett: I've been told that my 2008 Jayco Seneca was designed to charge both chassis and house batteries, but is there a way to confirm that easily?

I'd prefer to put mine in a garage, as well. Unfortunately, a garage isn't in the cards for me.

I recently had to repair my kitchen faucet due to a leak that occurred during our last outing. The location was a bear to work with and my fingers not quite nimble enough anymore. In any case, I wanted to replace mine with a home unit but none of the base plates fit the design of my Corian sink/countertop. I would have had to find another 3 hole unit and none seemed to grab my fancy. Ended up just fixing the leak for the time being. Removing the old unit was difficult enough. Getting the lines hooked back up while working blind in tight quarters was even more fun Fortunately, I was able to repair mine. And I will begin searching for a more suitable replacement.

I use a portable PI 50amp protector. Considered the built in, but decided that I was likely going to change coaches within the next year, so went portable. Works very well. Guess it could grow legs, but so far no issues.

Anyone in the Oregon area can get individual wheel weights at Henderson's Lineup in Grant's Pass. They will charge you for the service, of course. I'm sure that there are other RV repair centers that would offer this service. Oregon also has roadside weigh stations on some of the rural roads that are rarely busy and you could do the 2 pass method as previously suggested.

Looking good! Welcome to FMCA and your new Winnie.

OK...for follow up purposes and information, I have ruled out a bad ATS. I plugged the power in and didn't have power, so I took voltage readings at the inlet side of the ATS --- 000 --- I had previously double checked all of the fittings for tightness and they were satisfactory. Having established that the issue lay upstream of the transfer switch, I jiggled to cable (inside the coach side) where the power cable connects to to connector and could hear the power switch connect. SOOOOOOOO....that pretty much narrows it down to either the Marinco connector for the power cord or the connections of the cable within the connector. Any other thoughts would be helpful, but it looks like I may just have to pull the connector at the coach and check the wiring and/or replace the connector completely. Thanks for ALL of the above comments and suggestions!!! Carl

I've been extremely happy with my SMI DuoStay system. Take a look at them. Advantage is that they're ready to go without having to hook up and unhook each time. Once installed, they're there.

Thanks Brett....that makes a lot of sense. As I said, I have very little experience driving a DP and it's quite different from driving a gasser or even my diesel super c! I'm excited about going to a DP ... now it's just a matter of finding the right one that fits our needs and desires. You guys have been a terrific help and I suspect will continue to do so. Plan on joining the Diesel RV club soon as I'm guessing there's a wealth of information there.

Perhaps I wasn't quite clear in my explanation of events. From a dead, or near-dead stop, I press on the accelerator to move forward. As I press down on the pedal, I hear the engine rev slightly higher than I would expect for the pressure applied to the pedal. As the coach picks up some speed, that rev tapers off. It doesn't feel as if there is any slippage or similar mismatch. It's probably mostly my inexperience with driving these type vehicles and may not be an issue at all. I will admit that at the time that I noticed it, we were in a road construction area with tight clearances, so I was quite easy on the pedal and moving slowly between the construction cones and guardrail on the side of the road.

Another question please......when I test drove the 08 Monaco with the Cat engine, at very low speeds (i.e. just taking off, less than 10mph), I noticed the engine seemed to rev higher with less acceleration. At speeds higher than 10 mph (and 10 is a guess), I did not notice any such behavior. Is this typical? Was I just simply applying too much gas? It wasn't like it was racing, just slightly elevated engine rpm to acceleration. This wasn't measured by any indications. Just my ear.

I thought that I recall reading some very negative comments regarding the Cat C9 engine. Was that just internet banter or is there something to that? Thanks for the comments so far. It has been useful info.

Currently, we are in a 2008 Jayco Seneca 35GS with a Duramax engine. We are strongly considering moving up to a Class A DP. Now, I know very little about diesel engines, which is the reason for my query. To date, we have test driven a 2006 Beaver Patriot Thunder 42ft with a Cummins 525 HP engine and a 2008 Monaco Beaver Contessa Pacifica 40ft with a Cat C9 425HP engine. I'm not looking for pros and cons of any specific coach, but would like to hear some pros and cons of the different engines (and chassis), although I realize much of this is personal preferences). Are there any engines to definitely steer clear of with regards to maintenance and repair issues? Any strong contenders to look for? I realize that the year of these coaches (and the ones I'll likely consider in the future) put me right in the age of changes with emission controls. Currently, the Duramax that I have has DPF and I'm a bit aware of some negative issues that imposes. Emission control issues with any particular engines? The two models listed above are ballpark of the coaches that we're looking at, a price range under 200K, 38-42 foot to give you an idea of what we're considering.

I'll look into one, Walt. Any particular reason you find them better than PD?

Thanks kaypsmith. I can try that when I get the coach back home from this trip .... I emailed Progressive Dynamics for their input.

I have a Progressive Dynamics 50amp portable surge protector. I considered the inline hard-wired one, but the space was pretty tight where I would have needed to install and I'm sort of considering going to a new (new to me) coach within the next year or so. Rich, considering carbon buildup, wouldn't that be a non event after a few cycles? I remember looking inside the switch and not seeing anything abnormal. I did check the tightness of all the connections and they were tight. Can't imagine what else it could be. Guess I can double check the wiring between the cord plug in and the switch, but seems that if that were an issue that I'd see problems while hooked up and using shore power. When I get home, I'll do a complete check. With any luck, it will misbehave when I'm at home and have the time to do some voltage checking. On another note, I drove an 06 Beaver Thunder 42ft today. My Seneca's a nice coach, but driving that made me realize that I would be so much happier driving a DP.

Thanks for the reply Rich. I don't have any high current items on when I hook up, but the coach is only 6 month new to me and prior use of the coach is not known to me. Although it was low mileage (15K) when I purchased it, it is a 2008 unit.

I'm experiencing an odd issue with my electrical system. I plug into a 50amp outlet and the power does not pass through to the coach. I start the diesel generator and I have power. After running the generator for a minute or two, I kill the generator and the ATS properly shifts power to shore power. This happened every time I plugged in during a recent trip. I took the coach in for repair and he didn't experience the problem (isn't that always the case!). Anyway, he did find that most of the neutrals were burned while trouble shooting my rear air conditioner not working. I have no idea what could have caused the burned wiring. He repaired wiring, which also provided the proper amount of voltage to the AC unit. I took the coach home, plugged it in and no problems with power. Today, I pulled into Redmond Expo park, plugged into the power post and nothing! Jogged the generator and I have power again. Has anyone ever run across a similar scenario? I've yet to find the opportunity to troubleshoot with a multimeter, but I suspect that my ATS is the problem. Hopefully, the problem will manifest itself when I get home and I can possibly trace down the cause. If not, before I replace the ATS and hope that's the cause of my problem, does anyone have any other thoughts or ideas on what could be at fault? 50amp ATS, generator, portable surge protector (issue shows up with and without surge protector in use) Carl

Check voltages at inputs and outputs of ATS, converter, power panels, etc. You can narrow your search down that way. Obviously take necessary safety precautions while using a voltmeter on live circuits.

WD-40 isn't actually a true lubricant. WD stands for "water displacing" and its main use is as a solvent or rust dissolver. The lubricant-like properties of WD-40 come not from the substance itself, but from dissolving components. And the effect doesn't last. WD-40 can be a good substance to start with — it can help clean up rust or other grime. But depending on what you're working with, you should probably follow up WD-40 with use of a true lubricant such as one based on silicone, grease, Teflon, or graphite. In the case of the leveler shafts, I'd prefer to use a dry lubricant, sprayed liberally on the shaft while it's extended just prior to retracting them.

Go to a trailer/hitch dealer. They can make one for whatever you need.

I just use the Lynx Leveling pads.

I had them for awhile with my previous rv's. Used them a time or two without incident. Not sure on the limitations they set. I recently went with CoachNet for this motorhome.